To date Serpentrance may have slipped under your radar as they have only one previous release, ‘The Besieged Sanctum’ which was released in a limited quantity of 200 copies on cassette by Vault of Dried Bones in February 2015.

Whilst ‘The Besieged Sanctum’ is still available on digital formats this cassette edition was criminally the only physical release this excellent EP ever received. Thankfully this is now to be corrected as Blood Harvest Records is set to bring us CD and vinyl editions on the 10th November. The original cassette tape release of ‘The Besieged Sanctum’ featured a total of four tracks across twenty five minutes but these newer versions will feature an exclusive track, ‘The Funeral Mass of the Abhorrent,’ which extends the duration of the EP by a further five minutes. Backing vocals on 'The Funeral Mass of the Abhorrent' were provided by Inkantator Koura. (Mosaic, ex. Alchemyst)

All music and lyrics are by Serpentrance with the exception of track three, ‘Amongst the Timeless Tombs’ which features a vocal by Blckprst from Abhorrot. When ‘The Besieged Sanctum’ was originally written and released the band comprised a fourth member, L.K. The Serpentrance logo was designed by Horth who is a current member of Goatpsalm and Sickrites and has designed artwork for a number of bands including Ill Omen and Sickrites. The EP was mixed and mastered by guitarist and bassist S.F., and vocalist A.M.H. created the cover artwork for ‘The Besieged Sanctum.’

Serpentrance tend to vary the pace between an extremely measured doom-like pace to higher speed Death Metal and track one, ‘Obeisance to the Antiquity of Sin’ succinctly illustrates their variance between these extremes. The track starts proceedings by keeping the pace ominously slow for most of its six minute duration, before lifting significantly in the blink of an eye mid-way. Serpentrance keep this faster paced Death Metal gait for a few minutes before dropping back to their initial dirge like pace at the track’s conclusion.

Serpentrance creates a malevolent atmosphere throughout the EP, especially during the slower sections, an atmosphere that completely immerses you in their demonic hell. The vocal delivery from A.M.H. is fantastic and lends itself exceptionally well to the music, no matter what pace the music adopts his vocal seethes with hate and menace, sounding like a demon dragged from slumber in the pits of Hell and casting an authoritative and evil shadow over the music.

‘The Besieged Sanctum’ brings us some exceptional trance-inducing black/death magic across its duration, sounding ritualistic at times and constantly keeping a tight grip on your attention. The EP was perfectly summed up by the press release that stated, “Serpentrance create a swirling, sulfurous maelstrom of ritualistic black/death trance. Both seemingly improvised and militantly martial, ‘The Besieged Sanctum’ heaves its hulking mass in a deceptively doomed manner: always a sense of vertigo engulfs the listener, no matter the tempo - from sub-atomic crawl to blastbeaten bestiality - and textures bleed in and out like a lingering fog.”

With the EP available to stream in full below there’s no need for further description, just give it a listen and immerse yourself in some exceptional music that you’ll return to many times.